Colton McCrystal pinned Jake Barry in 41 seconds to help Nebraska close the dual season with a win over Stanford on Friday.

Photo by Scott Bruhn/Nebraska Communications

Early Bonus-Point Wins Pace Huskers Past Stanford

By NU Athletic Communications

| 02/16/2018

Stanford, Calif. - Colton McCrystal (149) and Isaiah White (165) won bonus points for Nebraska in two of the first three matches, and the 14th-ranked Cornhuskers held off a late Stanford rally to win a 23-14 decision Friday at Maples Pavilion.

Nebraska closes the dual season with a record of 10-4, as the Huskers, winners of eight of nine duals, reach double-digit wins in duals for the eighth-consecutive season and the 16th time in 18 seasons under Head Coach Mark Manning. Stanford falls to 7-5 on the year.

Ninth-ranked McCrystal got the Huskers started with a pin in less than a minute, as he put Jake Barry on his back in 41 seconds for his quickest pin of the season. McCrystal improves to 17-3 overall and 10-2 in duals, as he earned his 30th-career win in dual meets on Friday night.

Tyler Berger continued the Husker momentum, as he rebounded from an early deficit for a 3-2 decision over All-American Paul Fox, aided by a second-period rideout. The 11th-ranked Berger has won eight of his last 10 duals and is 18-6 on the year and 9-4 in duals.

White found bonus points for the Big Red at 165 pounds, as he racked up seven takedowns and a pair of nearfalls to cruise to a 21-5 technical fall over Jared Hill in just 3:17. White, ranked 10th by InterMat, has now accumulated 44 takedowns in dual meets, and has been taken down just twice as he improves to 11-2 in duals and 20-4 overall.

Seventh-ranked Taylor Venz also joined the 20-win club on Friday, as he was tough on top in the third period to seal a 7-3 decision over Austin Flores. Venz scored a pair of takedowns and a reversal in the bout, and is now 20-5 on the year and 10-4 in duals.

With Nebraska leading 17-5 at halftime, Eric Schultz picked up right where the Huskers left off, as the redshirt freshman won a 9-4 decision over Cole DePasquale to improve to 15-7 on the season and 10-4 in duals.

Heading into the final bout of the night, NU clung to a 20-14 lead, but Chad Red Jr. stamped out Stanford's glimmer of hope with a 7-2 decision over Isaiah Locsin to clinch the dual for Nebraska.

Stanford's two ranked wrestlers picked up wins Saturday, as ninth-ranked Keaton Subjeck won an 18-3 technical fall over Eric Engler at 174 pounds, and eighth-ranked Nathan Butler defeated David Jensen by a 7-3 decision.

After Butler's win, the Cardinal won bouts at 125 and 133 for a 9-0 scoring run before Red clinched the dual. At 125 pounds, Stanford's Gabriel Townsell won a 10-4 decision over Mitchell Maginnis, while Mason Pengilly scored a takedown and a four-point nearfall in the first sudden-victory period for a 7-1 win over No. 19 Jason Renteria.

Nebraska will have a week off from competition before the 2018 Big Ten Championships, held March 3-4 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich. Tickets for the championships are available at MSUSpartans.com.